Cruise to Alaska/Pacific Coast with wheelchair?

[Mary976]

DD and I are WDW vets, but we've never taken a cruise (Disney or otherwise). DD (college aged) uses a manual wheelchair full time, and I know that cruise excursions are sometimes not accessible. I had thought about a short (3-4 day) WDW cruise because as long as we can get off at Castaway Key, I don't really care about visiting other places. We'd be fine just doing things on the ship.

But now DH says he'd be more inclined to take a WDW cruise to Alaska. Since the stops are US/Canada, would they be more likely to be accessible? Is there any way to find out in advance? I don't want to have DD stuck on the ship for an entire week. She can transfer very easily, so I think we could get her off the ship without a problem (with DH there, we could lift her if we really had to). I just want to be sure that once we're off the ship, we can get around with DD's chair.

Thanks,
Mary

 

[Piper]

I have never cruised Disney to Alaska, but I have done another cruise line. It wasn't any more accessible than cruises to other places. There was a railway excursion (I think in Skagway) that was okay. But none of the rest of them were.

When I called the cruise line, I was not given the correct information. I suggest that you go to the Disabled board at Cruise Critic and ask. The people there should know--and may even know of some private tours you could take.

 

[jdb in AZ]

if you go to the DCL website and check out the individual Alaska shore excursions they should list which ones are wheelchair-friendly -- read the part that says "important additional information." Most of the shore excursions in Alaska are also accessible by private car/van/taxi, assuming your DD can transfer to the seat of the vehicle. We cruised with DMIL in a wheelchair and sometimes the gangway was at a greater incline than others, due to changing tides. One time the gangway was so steep that the crew had us use a different door (opening) on a lower deck so pushing her wouldn't be a problem.

If the port uses tenders (think of ferry boats because the water at the dock is too shallow, so the "mother ship" is anchored out in deeper water) that's another challenge to maneuver the wheelchair on and off the tenders. DMIL was in her 80's on several of our cruises and was just content to stay onboard most of the times. She had been there/done that before, so her main reason for cruising was to just visit and share meals with family members. I assume your DD would want to see the sites with the rest of your family.

I hope you can work things out. Alaska is my very favorite place to cruise.

 

[Mary976]

I suggest that you go to the Disabled board at Cruise Critic and ask. The people there should know--and may even know of some private tours you could take.

Thanks for the great tip! I hadn't heard of the Cruise Critic boards before, but they look great!

if you go to the DCL website and check out the individual Alaska shore excursions they should list which ones are wheelchair-friendly -- read the part that says "important additional information." Most of the shore excursions in Alaska are also accessible by private car/van/taxi, assuming your DD can transfer to the seat of the vehicle.

Thanks for the tips. DD does want to go out with everyone else, and she can transfer to a vehicle so that was good to hear.

Mary